NEW YORK -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Lawyers for former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn urged a judge on Wednesday to dismiss a civil suit brought against him by the New York hotel housekeeper who accused him of assaulting her last year .

The case `` must be dismissed , '' asserted lawyer Amit Mehta , because Strauss-Kahn enjoyed diplomatic immunity as an `` executive of a multilateral organization . ''

Judge Douglas McKeon told the Bronx courtroom that he would `` expeditiously issue a decision '' deciding whether the case could proceed .

Strauss-Kahn headed the IMF , an international organization consisting of 187 member-states with headquarters in Washington , D.C. . The IMF provides loans to countries that are suffering economic difficulties .

He resigned his position soon after his arrest by New York police in May 2011 , when he was charged with criminally assaulting a housekeeper in a Manhattan hotel suite .

The housekeeper , Nafissatou Diallo , accused Strauss-Kahn of attempting to rape her when she walked into his suite . Police subsequently removed him from an Air France flight about to depart New York 's Kennedy Airport and jailed him before his arraignment in criminal court .

The arrest of such a high-profile international political figure who was preparing a presidential run in his native France sparked worldwide media interest . But , the criminal case against Strauss-Kahn was later dropped by New York prosecutors , because of credibility issues they cited in Diallo 's account .

The interesting life of Dominique Strauss-Kahn

In August , Diallo 's lawyers served Strauss-Kahn with a civil suit seeking damages stemming from the alleged assault in the hotel . Lawyer Douglas Wigdor told the court Wednesday that Strauss-Kahn `` brutally sexually assaulted '' Diallo , arguing that Strauss-Kahn does not enjoy blanket diplomatic immunity from civil action .

As head of the IMF , Strauss-Kahn did enjoy some immunity , but a key sticking point is whether it extended to situations beyond his official duties .

`` Immunity is only provided for official actions , '' argued Wigdor . `` Absolute immunity does not apply to all situations . ''

Strauss-Kahn 's lawyers did not invoke his immunity from prosecution during the criminal case . Wigdor ridiculed the fact that they would invoke it in the civil case , but not the criminal case as `` piecemeal immunity . ''

But , Mehta countered that Strauss-Kahn was eager to assert his innocence in the criminal proceedings , and so he did n't invoke whatever immunity he enjoyed as IMF chief .

In the months following the hotel accusation last year , other allegations surfaced . Anne Mansouret , a Socialist member of the French parliament , said Strauss-Kahn had attacked her daughter . A complaint was filed , alleging a 2002 attack , though it could not be pursued because the statute of limitations had expired .

Currently , Strauss-Kahn faces another legal battle -- this time the case centers on an investigation into a high-profile prostitution network operating out of luxury hotels in the French city of Lille . Strauss-Kahn has been formally warned by French authorities that he is under investigation for `` aggravated pimping , '' and has been released on 100,000-euro bail .

CNN 's Simon Rushton contributed to this report .

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Dominique Strass-Kahn was head of the International Money Fund

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Criminal charges that he assaulted a New York hotel housekeeper were dropped

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But the housekeeper filed a civil suit

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His lawyers argue that he enjoyed diplomatic immunity , and the suit should be dismissed